Orinoco River

Orinoco River, Spanish Río Orinoco,
The Northern Andes and the Orinoco River basin and its drainage network.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.major river of South America that flows in a giant arc for some 1,700 miles (2,740 km) from its source in the Guiana Highlands to its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean. Throughout most of its course it flows through Venezuela, except for a section that forms part of the frontier between Venezuela and Colombia. The name Orinoco is derived from Guarauno words meaning “a place to paddle”—i.e., a navigable place.

Orinoco River near Ciudad Guayana, Venez.Carl PurcellThe Orinoco and its tributaries constitute the northernmost of South America’s four major river systems. Bordered by the Andes Mountains to the west and the north, the Guiana Highlands to the east, and the Amazon watershed to the south, the river basin covers an area of about 366,000 square miles (948,000 square km). It encompasses approximately four-fifths of Venezuela and one-fourth of Colombia.

For most of its length, the Orinoco flows through impenetrable rain forest or through the vast grassland (savanna) region of the Llanos (“Plains”), which occupies three-fifths of the Orinoco basin north of the Guaviare River and west of the lower Orinoco River and the Guiana Highlands. The savanna was given its name by the Spaniards in the 16th century and long has been used as a vast cattle range. Since the 1930s this region has been developing into one of the most industrialized areas of South America.

Physical features

Physiography of the Orinoco

The western slopes of the Sierra Parima, which form part of the boundary between Venezuela and Brazil, are drained by spring-fed streams that give rise to the Orinoco River. The source is placed in Venezuela at the southern end of the Sierra Parima, near Mount Delgado Chalbaud at an elevation of some 3,300 feet (1,000 metres). From its headwaters the river flows west-northwest, leaving the mountains to meander through the level plains of the Llanos. The volume of the river increases as it receives numerous mountain tributaries, including the Mavaca River on the left bank and the Manaviche, Ocamo, Padamo, and Cunucunuma rivers on the right.

Below the town of Esmeralda, some of the waters of the Orinoco flow south into the Casiquiare River (Brazo Casiquiare; sometimes called the Casiquiare Channel). This channel, a feature peculiar to the Orinoco River system, is a natural passage that flows generally south until it combines with the Guainía River to form the Negro River, thus linking the Orinoco and Amazon river systems.

After its bifurcation in the Casiquiare, the Orinoco bends to the northwest and flows in great meandering curves to its confluence with the Ventuari River. There the river turns to the west to run between high alluvial banks, its course marked by extensive sandbars. Near San Fernando de Atabapo, the Atabapo and Guaviare rivers join the Orinoco, marking the end of the upper Orinoco.

Downstream from San Fernando de Atabapo, the river flows northward and forms part of the border between Venezuela and Colombia. It passes through a transitional zone, the Region of the Rapids (Región de los Raudales), where the Orinoco forces its way through a series of narrow passages among enormous granite boulders. The waters fall in a succession of rapids, ending with the Atures Rapids. In this region, the main tributaries are the Vichada and Tomo rivers from the Colombian Llanos, and the Guayapo, Sipapo, Autana, and Cuao rivers from the Guiana Highlands.

The Atures Rapids mark the beginning of the lower Orinoco basin, in which the river makes its great bend to the east. In this section, the river flows slowly through the lowest level of the plains and increases to about five miles in width. Along the bend, it receives the largest number of tributaries of its entire course, including the Meta, Arauca, and Capanaparo rivers. The Apure River contributes waters from numerous Andean streams, which form a swampy maze in their lower courses.

From its junction with the Apure, the Orinoco meanders eastward over gently sloping plains. Shoals and alluvial islands are abundant; some of the islands are large enough to divide the channel into narrow passages. Tributaries include the Guárico, Manapire, Suatá (Zuata), Pao, and Caris rivers, which enter on the left bank, and the Cuchivero and Caura rivers, which join the main stream on the right. So much sediment is carried by these rivers that islands often form at the mouths. The Caroní River, one of the Orinoco’s largest tributaries, joins the river on its right bank after passing through the Guri Reservoir formed by Guri (Raúl Leoni) Dam, above Ciudad Guayana (also called Santo Tomé de Guayana); farther upstream, on the Churún River (a tributary of the Caroní), are Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world (3,212 feet). Many lagoons, including the Mamo, Amana, and Colorada, are located on the banks of the Orinoco west of its confluence with the Caroní and east of Ciudad Bolívar.

About 30 miles downstream of Ciudad Guayana, at the town of Barrancas, the Orinoco begins to form its great delta. The delta extends for about 275 miles along the Atlantic coast, from Pedernales on the Gulf of Paria in the northwest to Barima Point in the southeast on the Boca Grande (literally, the “Great Mouth”). Scores of islands are connected by innumerable canals (caños), which form an intricate network. The main channel of the Orinoco, known in the delta as the Río Grande, flows eastward from Barrancas to discharge into the Boca Grande.

The Llanos encompasses nearly all of the western lower Orinoco basin, occupying some 220,000 square miles; most of the land is less than 1,000 feet above sea level. The High Plains (Llanos Altos) are most conspicuous near the Andes, where they form extensive platforms between rivers and are some 100 to 200 feet above the valley floors. Away from the mountains they are increasingly fragmented, as in the dissected tableland of the central and eastern Llanos (the Sabana de Mesas) and the hill country (serranía) south of the Meta River in Colombia. The Low Plains (Llanos Bajos) are defined by two rivers, the Apure in the north and the Meta in the south. The lowest portion of the Llanos is an area that lies to the west of the lower Orinoco valley; this area is converted annually into an inland lake by flooding.

In addition to the Apure and the Meta, the principal streams draining the Llanos include the Guaviare and Arauca rivers. Seasonal changes between saturation and dehydration have led to advanced laterization of the soil, the process in which the base minerals have been leached away or incorporated into insoluble iron and aluminum silicates. Fine-grained soils form hardpans (cemented layers of soils), and in gravel regions, iron-cemented quartz conglomerates underlie the surface. Excessive acidity and the lack of nutrient bases, organic matter, and nitrogen make virtually all mature soils infertile.

Climate

The climate of the Orinoco basin is tropical, with the seasons marked by differences in rainfall rather than in temperature. The year is divided into two seasons—rainy and dry (locally known as winter and summer)—the former extending from April to October or November and the latter most marked from November through March or April. The wet and dry seasons result from the annual migration of the intertropical convergence zone, a low-pressure trough between the hemispheric easterlies, or trade winds; the passage of the zone northward from its summertime position south of the Equator brings the rainy winter period.

Rainfall varies considerably throughout the drainage basin. The northeast trade winds blow parallel to the coastal districts without losing much of their moisture, in some places leaving less than 20 inches (510 mm) of precipitation per year. Areas lying behind topographic barriers also get little rain, while windward slopes generally are well watered. In some regions enough rain falls to support a lush jungle growth, and in others there is enough for a true rain forest (selva). The Llanos experience severe drought from about January to April and then undergo extensive flooding from June to October. Monthly precipitation is seldom less than 10 inches in the Colombian Llanos between April and November. The rains peak about midyear in the Venezuelan north, with monthly totals of roughly 10 inches. Annual precipitation is highest near the Andes, where Villavicencio, Colom., receives 180 inches; and there is a pronounced decrease toward the central plains, where Puerto de Nutrias, Venez., receives 45 inches.

In contrast to precipitation, temperature differences in the basin are slight throughout the year; and no month averages more than 69 °F (21 °C) or less than 64 °F (18 °C). Whatever the average temperature, there is little difference from month to month. The only marked variation is from day to night, being greater than that from month to month. On the Llanos, daily maximum temperatures rise above 95 °F (35 °C) in the dry period; the dry winds and nocturnal cooling bring relief with normal minimum temperatures between 65 and 75 °F (18 and 24 °C).

Hydrology

The river basin, as a geomorphological feature, dates from the Quaternary Period (i.e., the past 2.6 million years). The enormous quantities of material produced by the highland regions are carried down by torrential rains to the rivers. The rivers, unable to hold the excessive material, overflow or break their banks, producing periodic floods that submerge the lowlands. Under these conditions, drainage presents an unstable and indefinite pattern, marked by the shifting of rivers, lagoons, and swamps over the lower lands. The Orinoco delta is rapidly extending into the ocean, but the tremendous amounts of sediments that accumulate are accelerating the subsidence (sinking) that also is occurring in the delta region.

Wide fluctuations in the river’s flow reflect the seasonal rainfall pattern. During the dry season, or “low-water” period, from October to March, the average depth of the Orinoco is about 49 feet in the lower basin near Ciudad Bolívar. The rise of the river begins with manifest regularity in April at the beginning of the rainy season. The “high-water” period from April to October reaches its maximum in July. The depth of the river at this period is about 165 feet at Ciudad Bolívar. From June to August the lowlands of the basin are flooded and in some places are 65 feet under water. At the end of August the waters gradually recede until they again reach their lowest point in October.

Plant life

Most of the Llanos consists of treeless savanna. In the low-lying areas, swamp grasses and sedges are to be found, as is bunchgrass (Trachypogon). Long-stemmed grass dominates the dry savanna and is mixed with carpet grass (Axonopus affinis), the only natural grass to provide green forage during the dry season.

The most conspicuous trees in the Llanos occur in the gallery forests that occur in the alluvial soils deposited along the rivers and in the narrower files of trees known as morichales, named for the dominant moriche, or miriti, palm (Mauritia flexuosa), that follow minor water courses. Broad-leaved evergreens originally occupied the high-rainfall zone in the Andean piedmont. There also is a handful of xerophytic trees (i.e., those adapted to arid conditions), including the chaparro (scrub oak) and the dwarf palm, scattered on the open savanna. Much of this natural tree cover, however, has been reduced by deforestation. The Guiana Highlands are covered with high, dense forest that is interrupted by both large and small patches of savanna. The tropical rain forest of the upper Orinoco valley contains hundreds of species of trees. Mangrove swamps cover much of the delta region.

Animal life

More than 1,000 species of birds frequent the Orinoco region; among the more spectacular are the scarlet ibis, the bellbird, the umbrella bird, and numerous parrots. The great variety of fish include the carnivorous piranha, the electric eel, and the laulao, a catfish that often attains a weight of more than 200 pounds. The Orinoco crocodile is one of the longest of its kind in the world, reaching a length of more than 20 feet; among other inhabitants of the rivers are caimans (an alligator-like amphibian) and snakes, including the boa constrictor. The arrau, or side-necked turtle, the shell of which grows to a length of about 30 inches, nests on the sandy islands of the river. Insects include butterflies, beetles, ants, and mound-building termites.

Most mammals in the Llanos nest in the gallery forests along the streams and feed on the grassland. The only true savanna dwellers in the region are a few burrowing rodents and about two dozen species of birds (among them the white and scarlet ibis, the morichal oriole, and the burrowing owl). Several species of deer and rabbit, the anteater and armadillo, the tapir, the jaguar, and the largest living rodent, the capybara, also can be found.

The people

Indigenous peoples of the basin

Except for the Guajiros of Lake Maracaibo, most of the Venezuelan aboriginal population lives within the Orinoco River basin. The most important indigenous groups include the Guaica (Waica), also known as the Guaharibo, and the Maquiritare (Makiritare) of the southern uplands, the Warao (Warrau) of the delta region, the Guahibo and the Yaruro of the western Llanos, and the Yanomami. These peoples live in intimate relationship with the rivers of the basin, using them as a source of food as well as for purposes of communication.

Settlement

Until the mid-1900s, settlement was limited to widely scattered ranches known as hatos (haciendas), a few villages, and missionary stations along the lower courses of the region’s rivers. Oil and gas strikes in the eastern and central Venezuelan Llanos at El Tigre (1937) and Barinas (1948) initiated industrial and urban development in a region that had been sparsely populated until that time. Several of the “boom towns” of that period, such as El Tigre, have grown into sizable cities. An expansion of intensive agriculture occurred with the settlement, which began in the 1950s, of pioneer farmers in the Andean piedmont and along the river valleys. Major concentrations of these small farms are located in the vicinity of Barinas, Guanare, San Fernando de Apure, and Acarigua in Venezuela and in the Ariari region in Colombia.

As a result of this settlement, a high degree of urbanization has occurred in the Venezuelan Llanos, with more than half of the people living in cities of 10,000 or more inhabitants. Generally the important towns are built on high ground to avoid recurrent flooding. Town plans reflect Spanish influence: streets are arranged in a gridiron pattern with a central plaza. By contrast, population increase has been modest in the Colombian areas of the Llanos and—with the exception of the region around Ciudad Guayana—in the Guiana Highlands.

The economy

Resource exploitation

The Guiana Highlands are rich in mineral deposits. Iron ore, containing high concentrations of iron, is mined at Cerro Bolívar and El Pao. Other minerals include deposits of manganese, nickel, vanadium (a metallic element used to form alloys), bauxite, and chrome. There also are deposits of gold and diamonds. Petroleum and natural gas are exploited in the Orinoco Llanos and the Orinoco delta.

The Orinoco Llanos long have been one of South America’s major livestock-raising areas, with cattle being predominant. In addition, sugarcane, cotton, and rice are grown on a commercial scale on the plains. Land-reclamation and flood-control projects in the delta region have been planned in order to open vast agricultural lands.

Although agriculture and cattle raising have continued as mainstays of the basin’s economy, the base has been widened by the exploitation of petroleum and other minerals and by the establishment of certain industries. Industrial development of the river basin is concentrated around Ciudad Guayana and includes the production of steel, aluminum, and paper. The industrial growth of Ciudad Guayana has been made possible by the construction of the Macagua and Guri dams, which have harnessed much of the immense hydroelectric potential of the Caroní River. The power supplied by this vast project is supplemented by natural gas piped from the oil fields north of the Orinoco River.

Transportation

The Orinoco and its tributaries long have served as vast waterways for the indigenous inhabitants of the Venezuelan interior. Especially during the floods of the rainy season, boats with outboard motors are the only means of communication throughout large areas of the river basin. Large river steamers travel upriver for about 700 miles from the delta to the Atures Rapids. Dredging has allowed large oceangoing vessels to navigate the Orinoco from its mouth to its confluence with the Caroní River—a distance of about 225 miles—in order to tap the iron ore deposits of the Guiana Highlands.

Considerable road construction has been undertaken in the Venezuelan Llanos since World War II. The Llanos and the Guiana region were connected in 1967 with the completion of a mile-long bridge across the Orinoco at Ciudad Bolívar. Earlier, in 1961, the mouth of the Caroní was bridged to connect the new industrial town of Puerto Ordaz with the old Orinoco port of San Félix, thereby creating the urban unit of Ciudad Guayana; Ciudad Guayana subsequently was connected to Caracas by a major highway.

European exploration of the Orinoco River basin began in the 16th century. A series of expeditions sponsored by the German banking house of Welser of Augsburg penetrated the Llanos southward across the Apure and Meta rivers. From the east, several Spanish expeditions ascended the river from its mouth without much success. In 1531 the Spanish explorer Diego de Ordaz voyaged up the river, and that same year another Spanish explorer, Antonio de Berrio, descended the Casanare and Meta rivers and then descended the Orinoco to its mouth.

In 1744 Jesuit missionaries reached the Casiquiare River. Alexander von Humboldt, the German naturalist, traveled more than 1,700 miles through the Orinoco basin in 1800. By 1860 steamships were navigating the Orinoco. The source of the river remained in dispute, however, until a Venezuelan expedition finally identified it in 1951.